McGregor vs Mayweather and the Story of Your Business

A look back to the McGregor vs Mayweather fight and the story around it.

The 41-year-old undefeated champion goes up against the egotistical high-energy, fearless UFC fighter and defeats him late in a close-fought match–wait, is this Rocky Balboa vs Hulk Hogan?

No, but yes. If the McGregor vs Mayweather fight felt like something from a movie, that’s not a coincidence. It’s because everything that led up to the match (promos and previews, the press conference, all the articles) was all part of a story, a narrative designed to motivate people to show up and buy a ticket or to pay out $100 for the pay-per-view event. And it worked! Financially speaking, the fight was a huge success.

Even the match was part of the narrative, not that it was fixed or orchestrated, but the fighters did not only want to win, they also wanted to give a good show. Could Mayweather have won faster than he did? Probably, yes. But he didn’t want to end this in round two, it would have ended the story. The story is what puts the fight in context and allows fans to engage. And fan engagement is how the business of professional fighting works.

Engagement is also how virtually all other businesses work, in one way or another. You need people to care about what you do.